Chandrayaan 3 to be launched by mid-July this year: S. Somanath, Chairman ISRO

Bangalore. The much awaited launch of Chandrayaan 3 mission is nearing its launch, the satellite has been moved from U R Rao Space Centre (URSC) to the launch site Sathish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) and will happen during mid-July, said S. Somanath, Chairman ISRO, in Bengaluru, on June 8.

Speaking to the media on the side-lines of a 2-day International Conference on Spacecraft Mission Operations (SMOPS-2023), organised in Bengaluru, on June 8, Somanath said the initial operations of checking the Satellite both the propulsion module and the lander plus rover is going on, and after initial process they will be integrated and placed into the vehicle.

The rocket used for the launch is LVM 3, where its integration is going on, all the stages have reached SDSC and are being thoroughly checked and the final integration will take place this month end, and Chandrayaan 3 will be assembled into the rocket possibly by the beginning of July with the launch to take place in the middle of July, he added.

After the launch as being done during Chandrayaan 2, there will be orbital procedure, Somanath highlighted.

On ISRO’s most ambitious Gaganyaan programme, Somanath said ISRO aims to demonstrate human spaceflight capability by launching a three-member crew onto an orbit of 400 km for a three-day mission and bringing them back to Earth safely by landing in Indian sea waters. The CMRMs are mock-up models, which simulate details of mass, centre of gravity, outer dimensions, interfaces, and externals of the actual Crew Module.

The project is accomplished through an optimal strategy by considering in-house expertise, experience of Indian industry, intellectual capabilities of Indian academia & research institutions along with cutting edge technologies available with international agencies, he stated.

The pre-requisites for Gaganyaan mission include development of many critical technologies including human rated launch vehicle for carrying crew safely to space, Life Support System to provide an earth like environment to crew in space, crew emergency escape provision and evolving crew management aspects for training, recovery and rehabilitation of crew, Somanath explained.

Various precursor missions are planned for demonstrating the Technology Preparedness Levels before carrying out the actual Human Space Flight mission. These demonstrator missions include Integrated Air Drop Test (IADT), Pad Abort Test (PAT) and Test Vehicle (TV) flights. Safety and reliability of all systems will be proven in unmanned missions preceding manned mission, he added.

On Gaganyaan’s first abort mission on the Special Test Vehicle, Somamath hinted that to slip into August.

“May be the first of the test missions is going to happen in August, although we had initially thought about doing it in July. Such delays happen as they are being done for the first time,” he said.

After the first mission ISRO will have the second by the end of this year, followed by an uncrewed mission probably in the beginning of next year, the ISRO Chief said.

“Launch vehicle human rating has successfully been completed, manufacturing is happening and the industries are delivering the crew module and other systems. Eight tests are there in front of me and if all of them are successful without any glitches, then we can have manned mission during 2024-25 time frame, but if I face some adversities, as Is quite natural in such missions, then I will have to think of discounting the schedule,” Somanath said.

Further, Stressing on the safety aspect of Gaganyaan mission, he said, the redefined approach taken by ISRO to add redundancies and validate all systems and sub-systems will ensure success in the very first attempt.

“The Primary objective of the human space mission is ensuring the safety of the crew, and our redefined approach will ensure success in the very first attempt. For this we have enhanced testing and demonstration substantially and that involves additional abort missions”, he clarified.

While India’s Space Agency is aiming for the August launch of Aditya L1, India’s first Solar mission, Somanath said missing this window would push the project to next year.